Suryavanshi – The other Salman reincarnation film

Salman Khan is an industry unto himself today. His films, for the most part, are undoubted money spinners. Known for his derring do roles in films like Wanted, Dabanng, Bodyguard, Salman is the first actor to have brought the six-pec trend in India with Pyaar Kiya To Darna Kya song track. But Salman had a strong physique since day one – and that had led to starring roles in several camp films in the nineties – and Suryavanshi was one of them.

Bollywood has something for reincarnation films. Every once in a decade, it makes one that’s a love story about a couple who die but are reunited in their next birth. But Suryavanshi was a bit different – even if it was similar to the Mithun starrer Bees Saal Baad.

Salman played Vicky, a young, rich man who marries a family friend Sonia, played by Sheeba, because of parental pressure. What starts as a simple family drama becomes a supernatural thriller in a matter of minutes. Vicky starts behaving strangely when he sees an old painting in his home. Soon, his father-in-law is entrusted the work of finding the secret of an archeaological structure in Sangramgadh. When a Baba from Sangramgadh comes to Vicky’s house, he sees Vicky’s photograph and immediately makes a connect. The Baba then tells the story.

Sangramgadh was once a peaceful kingdom, but a haughty princess ruined it all. The people revolted against the princess. The princess, scared of her future, committed suicide. However, since that day, Sangramgadh was jinxed. One day, the Baba himself went to the ruins where the princess had committed suicide. There, a mysterious female voice tells him to bring her Suryavanshi. The baba believes that Vicky is the reincarnation of the Suryavanshi. (Sidenote, Suryavanshi literally means the ‘son of Sun’).

There’s a lot of story in Suryavanshi, all done to basically get Salman in one of the most unique get-ups in Bollywood. He does his Conan bit, he also fights with a cub, and he fights with a zombie type character. This is also one of the rare occassions where the hero of the film is a Blonde in Bollywood. Amrita Singh, who had by then given up her career made a return as an evil princess/witch. Bollywood liked her performance.

Suryavanshi is one of the few big budget reincarnation films, so it is a definite watch. The cast comprised of some of the 90 staples. Suryavanshi also has some surprisingly good graphics – standing proof to the production budget that this Bollywood supernatural film was made on. This is a Salman starrer before he became Salman, so there are brownie points for that too.

Suryavanshi will definitely become a bit famous now, because Salman has said that this is the film that he would like remade. We couldn’t agree more. We know that Salman has the medieval fringe in him. He also acted in another medieval film, Veer, which didn’t work at the box office.

Suryavanshi was a disappointment when it first released because the audience was not ready for a blonde Salman Khan playing the Indian version of Conan the Barbarian. Also, the screenplay was too long and didn’t really do justice to the concept. In 2017, with the right backing, this could be a great film and a good booster to the Indian supernatural genre.